iPhone surrender

southpier

Expedition Leader
bought an iPhone 6 in august and am going to turn it back in for a flip-phone without all the apps stuff. anyone else decide phones do way more than we need?

ps: is there a market for these rowboat anchors?
 

DaveInDenver

Middle Income Semi-Redneck
Verizon is willing to give me $50 on trading in my iPhone 5s, so I'd have to think an iPhone 6 would be close to offsetting the price of a flip phone.

I was considering doing that. We on average use about 9% of available data each month. I only have installed Solitaire, Avenza for PDF maps, TopoPoint, Waze and Google Voice on mine. Problem is I do text quite a bit and I'd miss the convenience by going back to a flip phone and losing the link with macOS Messenger.

So I just keep buying the oldest iPhones used that are still supported by Apple. Paid $200 for this 5s a couple of years ago and it works fine for me. Honestly, it is handy for those times you need Google or directions.
 
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vintageracer

To Infinity and Beyond!
bought an iPhone 6 in august and am going to turn it back in for a flip-phone without all the apps stuff. anyone else decide phones do way more than we need?

ps: is there a market for these rowboat anchors?

Don't use the apps and just TALK on the Iphone like the telephone it is.

Not that hard.
 

Mkaser

New member
Don't use the apps and just TALK on the Iphone like the telephone it is.

Not that hard.

But the iPhone is unique.that means we need to download some Apple's app , Or apple's unique app.if so that , we need to update iPhone device , and i get a iPhone data app , which can help us to recover data for iPhone user ,
 
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LocoCoyote

World Citizen
But the iPhone is unique.that meants we need to download some Apple's app , Or apple's unique app.if so that , we need to update iPhone device , and i get a iPhone data app , which can help us to recover data for iPhone user ,

Maybe take it easy on the maryjane there, partner!
 

pluton

Adventurer
Maybe take it easy on the maryjane there, partner!
Now...that's funny.
I like the "smart"phone for it's computer-like functions. It's the ******t for traveling. Compass, mapping, web, sun and moon calcs, built-in point and shoot camera, timer and stopwatch, etc. For just talking: The speakerphone part is well done, almost like the Star Trek hand-held communicator from the original series. Almost... But the ergos for listening to the ear are crap, the voice quality of cell calls hasn't improved in 20 years...and isn't likely to.
The last few Samsung flip phones I had were lousy phones. Random shutoffs, terrible audio quality. etc.
 

southpier

Expedition Leader
hell; i'm not even smart enough to get multiple quotes in my response. but a substantial reason with dumping the iPhone centers around the apple integration with my computer, and all of the stuff mentioned above. I simply don't need it. as far as "just talk", well, I can do that on a $30 flip phone. which is the general direction i'm headed. I don't want to be connected.

thank you all for letting me share.
 

DaveInDenver

Middle Income Semi-Redneck
Why not just drop the data from your plan, then? The cheapest flip phone Verizon sells is still $120 and there's not really that many decent ones on Craigslist used. Which is why I stopped pursuing it. I already have a bought and paid for iPhone, no reason to throw good money after bad to so-call simplify.
 

Choff

Adventurer
I have an iphone 4 with original battery and still going strong !!! smaller that most smart phones.
Would not go back to flip phone for not using the Apps.
Some Apps are great
64 year old traveler and still working !!!
 

Airmapper

Inactive Member
This writer shares your sentiments:

https://www.fastcompany.com/40522828/this-is-what-its-like-to-not-own-a-smartphone-in-2018


I finally gave in to a smartphone late 2016. I'm a bit of a nerd and like computers, so I will say I appreciate it more so for it's computer in my pocket functions than for being a phone. I actually don't particularly like to talk on the phone. I use it a lot as a GPS, a camera, a barometer, and I'd say one of my top reasons for looking at it is to check the weather. It is also my pocket watch and alarm clock. But, when you get down to it I actually view it more as a computer and sensor platform than a phone.

I actually still have an active flip phone. I don't like to talk and I have 2 phones, go figure. However, due to the service providers I've chosen I pay less for 2 phones than most people pay for one. I've found the setup useful as the phones are on different networks, so in spotty areas often I can get a signal on one or the other, so I only use the 2nd phone when traveling as a backup.
 

Kerensky97

Xterra101
hell; i'm not even smart enough to get multiple quotes in my response. but a substantial reason with dumping the iPhone centers around the apple integration with my computer, and all of the stuff mentioned above. I simply don't need it. as far as "just talk", well, I can do that on a $30 flip phone. which is the general direction i'm headed. I don't want to be connected.

thank you all for letting me share.

Yeah, your problem isn't smartphones. Your problem is Apple, and I totally understand.
 

zuren

Adventurer
bought an iPhone 6 in august and am going to turn it back in for a flip-phone without all the apps stuff. anyone else decide phones do way more than we need?

ps: is there a market for these rowboat anchors?

I'm definitely considering ditching my smartphone. It is a circa 2014 Samsung Galaxy S3. I'm fairly tired of the crappy battery life, constant updates to keep things running smoothly, and it proves to be a fairly constant annoyance/distraction. I have tried to remove apps, turn off notifications, etc. but these things are "needy"; designed to grab your attention and keep it once they have it. Apps update and I have to go through the process of killing notifications again. It's a constant game of whack-a-mole.

In 2006-07, I very briefly owned a house in a very rural area - no cell service, internet was dial-up, and just a land line so I spent minimal time on technology. I've never been a more productive and satisfied person than I was at that time.

My biggest issue with smartphones is that many people have come to expect constant connectivity/availability when I actively reject the notion being constantly connected. "Did you get my text?", "Did you see my email?", "You get alerts to your phone, right?" I would love to pull a dumb phone out of my pocket and say, "got your text but was waiting to call since texting is hard on this phone.....and no, I didn't get your email." (wait for strange looks)

My wife wastes hours of her life on her smartphone; I can see her mood shift when she spends too much time on it. As far as I'm concerned, they are really becoming a problem and others seem to agree:

https://www.npr.org/sections/health...hone-detox-how-to-power-down-in-a-wired-world

https://www.cnn.com/2017/11/30/health/smartphone-addiction-study/index.html

The overall personal communication and technology solution I'm considering is:

- switching to AT&T to get onto a GSM carrier (SIM cards)
- keep the S3 existing phone for kids games, GPS, baby monitor, or some other use; I've confirmed it is fully depreciated
- get a Sonim XP5 dumb-ish phone for daily use (supposedly great battery life, great signal strength, is a 4G phone that can be tethered to a laptop, has some smartphone-ish features)
- get a tablet capable of accepting a SIM card (for times that I want a smartphone-like device and WIFI is not available)
- replace my big laptop and small netbook computers with a small but more powerful laptop for when I need to do real work
- maybe get an Intel NUC as a backup computer (tiny, could live in a drawer until needed; I am starting to build a side business from home so having a backup would be prudent)

Anyway, just my $0.02.
 

chasespeed

Explorer
I ditched my iPhone back in december... went back to a droid...(s8). Got sick of the Apple stuff.... and retired my old iPad for a tab S3.....

Can get rid of the bloatware, no more U2 playing every time I get in my wife's Charger, etc....

Unfortunately, I'm pretty tied to my devices, between kids/family, moving around, traveling for work, etc...

I use the functionality of my devices quite a bit.

That said, as far as a phone goes, the iPhone makes a crappy phone IMHO.
Verizon, you can still get a LTE flip phone, and be able to use it as a hotspot, and tester is to a tablet, or laptop as needed if so desired.

I feel, your pain. If you don't want to be THAT connected, dont... If you don't NEED it, or want it, slide over to a flipper....

Chase

Sent from my SM-T827V using Tapatalk
 

shifty98

Observer
This is very interesting topic. As a 19 year old college student, unfortunately I know little else. I do hate how society expects us to be connected 24/7. My voicemail reads "You missed me. I'm hopefully out doing something cool and left my phone in the truck. I'll call you back when I return to reality." I find that most of the time people are fine as long as they understand there is a good chance I won't respond immediately.
Right now I'm writing a paper on how social media is influencing our social interactions and social skills and it is pretty interesting.
One thing I have done is made my smart phone dumb. I found I was spending too much time (by my standards) on useless phone stuff. Instead of going back to a flip phone I disabled safari, and deleted lots of apps so now just have call, text, email, weather, maps, and some other useful outdoors apps.
 

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